OCLC names five librarians to participate in 2013 Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 13 August 2012—OCLC, along with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), today named five librarians chosen to participate in the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program for 2013.

The 2013 Jordan IFLA/OCLC Fellows were announced by Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO, at a news conference during the World Library and Information Congress: 78th IFLA General Conference and Assembly in Helsinki, Finland. The 2013 Jordan IFLA/OCLC Fellows are:

Miss Chona San Pedro, Librarian II, National Library of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

The Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program supports library and information science professionals from countries with developing economies. The program provides advanced continuing education and exposure to a broad range of issues in information technologies, library operations and global cooperative librarianship. With the selection of the five Fellows for the class of 2013, the program will have welcomed 65 librarians and information science professionals from 34 countries.

"The fellows are chosen not only for what they have done thus far in their careers, but also for where they are headed," said Mr. Jordan. "The OCLC community looks forward to exchanging ideas with the 2013 class and supporting their potential for leadership."

During the four-week program, which will take place in April and May 2013, the Fellows will participate in discussions with library and information science leaders, library visits and professional development activities. The program will be based at OCLC headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, USA. Topics and issues explored include information technologies and their impact on libraries, library operations and management, and global cooperative librarianship.

The program also gives Fellows the chance to share their home customs and cultures with other Fellows, with colleagues they meet during the program, and with their hosts. The Fellows’ visits to libraries provide other opportunities to broaden their knowledge about issues facing libraries today. They observe portions of the OCLC Global Council meeting, gaining insight into issues affecting global library cooperation and the governance of a global library cooperative. They visit selected libraries and cultural heritage institutions to meet with leading information professionals and discuss real-world solutions for libraries.

The Fellows give formal and informal presentations about their home countries and libraries, and the challenges facing libraries in their home countries. As their program concludes, Fellows translate their program experiences into specific development plans to guide their continued growth and personal contributions to their home institutions and countries of origin.

"This is a wonderful program and has been the highlight of my career. I have learned so much more than I expected or imagined," said Njeri Mungai, 2012 Fellow from Kenya.

In 1999, OCLC and IFLA created the early career development program to bring promising librarians from developing nations to OCLC for training and interaction with OCLC staff and librarians in the United States.

In 2008, to commemorate Jay Jordan’s 10th year as OCLC’s President and CEO and to acknowledge his role in creating the fellowship program, the OCLC Board of Trustees renamed the program the "Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program."

Sponsorships from interested organizations are available. For more information about sponsoring the Fellowship program, contact George Needham, OCLC Vice President, Global and Regional Councils at needhamg@oclc.org.

Application information for the 2014 Fellowship Program is available on the OCLC Web site.

About IFLA

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. Founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1927 at an international conference, IFLA now has 1,600 Members in approximately 150 countries around the world. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971. The Royal Library, the national library of the Netherlands, in The Hague, generously provides the facilities for IFLA headquarters. More information can be found at www.ifla.org/.

About OCLC

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to 72,000 libraries in 171 countries and territories. OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world’s richest online resource for finding library materials. Search WorldCat.org on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

OCLC, WorldCat and WorldCat.org are trademarks/service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks/service marks of their respective owners.